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Judge Krombeen says Tusayan court is a success, asks council to consider where it goes next
Williams Justice Court and the town of Tusayan take a look at Tusayan court and consider changes to court proceedings

TUSAYAN, Ariz. - Holding court at the Tusayan Town Hall and recently offering tele-court through a live video link has dramatically cut down on failures to appear for Tusayan residents.

Now the Williams Justice Court and the town of Tusayan are considering other options for improving court proceedings at Tusayan.

Judge Rob Krombeen, with the Williams Justice Court, precides over the Williams and the Tusayan courts. At the Nov. 4 town council meeting, Krombeen asked Tusayan council members to begin considerations for any changes to court proceedings at the Tusayan court.

Any changes, inprovements or adjustments to the court will be discussed at the town's planning retreat in January.

"The primary reason I wanted to address the council was to set up the opportunity for increased dialogue between the court and the council in the future, so we can more effectively plan for the developing needs of the town and the court there," Krombeen said.

The court currently operates on a five-year inter-governmental agreement (IGA) with the town of Tusayan. The court is about halfway through its current IGA and the upcoming discussion allows council members and court representatives to discuss various models at the Tusayan court.

"We want to make sure that we are able to effectively plan and prepare for any changes or additional needs that the town would desire for their court," Krombeen said.

Krombeen suggested several different models fot council members to consider at the January meeting.

The newest addition to the Tusayan court was in June, when Williams Justice Court began holding tele-court for Tusayan residents at the Tusayan town hall. The tele-court made it possible for Krombeen to hold court in Tusayan from Williams via a live video link. Krombeen said the tele-court has had a few challenges along the way, but overall has cut down on the number of failure to appears for court, which was one of the tele-court's primary purposes.

"It has dramatically improved our customer service over the last five months that we have been holding court up there," Krombeen said. "It's really, really improved the efficiency and effectiveness of our customer service."

The Tusayan court started in 2012 with a temporary one-year IGA with the town. In 2013, the court drafted a five-year IGA to provide court services through the end of fiscal year 2018.

"It's worked well between us going up there once a month, but (it helps) having that video link the remaining weeks of the month, where customers can directly link down to our court if they have any questions, issues or anything else they need to address in that case," Krombeen said.

The court has held one jury trial and one bench trial at the Tusayan Town Hall in the last several months.

"Most of the cases are being resolved up there through change of plea, so that's a primary way of resolving most of the criminal cases in the town," Krombeen said.

Krombeen encourages council members and members of the community to stop by the Tusayan Town Hall to observe how the court operates.

"I would like them to see what we are doing and how we are providing those services to better understand the process and how we can address needs in the future," Krombeen said.

Krombeen holds an in person open court once a month on a Tuesday (usually the second Tuesday of the month) and tele-court every Tuesday at 10 a.m. at the Tusayan Town Hall, 845 Mustang Drive, Tusayan, Arizona.


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